A PCB starts out as a schematic design in which the PCB functionality is laid out as a logical diagram of symbolic representations. When the schematic is finished, the schematic is interpreted, or captured, into a virtual PCB of physical components that make up the PCB functionality as detailed in the schematics. The PCB design can then be used to manufacture an electrical circuit in the form of a printed circuit board.
During the PCB layout process, many users may work on the schematic design to create the virtual PCB. Traditionally, this has been accomplished via a design splitting mechanism whereby each user can check out a corresponding (assigned) piece of the design to make edits to the PCB layout.
To see how edits affect the most current edits to the remainder of the board, and vice versa, the edits are merged back into the original database where the master design is updated with the edits. However, this approach is restrictive in that the user is limited to viewing only areas of the design that are opened by each individual. Consequently, the user cannot see edits that are made to the rest of the board while the user's edits are being made.
Furthermore, there is currently no known mechanism that allows users to simultaneously work in shared areas of a PCB design while maintaining the integrity of the PCB design.